Ethical decision making: An investigation of services marketing professionals

This study investigates the relative influences of professional values and selected demographic variables on the ethical perceptions of services marketing professionals. The relationship between ethical perceptions and ethical judgments of service marketers is also examined. The data were obtained from a mail survey of the American Marketing Association's professional members of service industries. The survey results indicate a positive relationship between a service professional's professional values and his/her perceptions of ethical problems. The results also suggest that ethical judgments of a service professional can be partially explained by his/her perceptions of ethical problems. Implications of the research findings were discussed. Anusorn Singhapakdi is Associate Professor of Marketing at Old Dominion University. His research has been primarily in the areas of marketing/business ethics. He published in various journals such as Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Journal of Business Ethics, Journal of Macromarketing, Journal of Personal Selling & Sales Management, and Journal of Public Policy & Marketing. He has presented papers at various professional conferences including the American Marketing Association and the Academy of Marketing Science.C. P. Rao is Eminent Scholar and William B. Spong Chair in Marketing and International Business at Old Dominion University. He has also served on the Marketing faculty at the University of Arkansas and at the Indian Institute of management. He participated in the ICAME program at Stanford University. Dr. Rao was awarded the C.P.M. (Certified Purchasing Manager) by the National Association of Purchasing Manager. Dr. Rao is a frequent contributor to many leading journals and has received the Distinguished Faculty Research Award in the College of Business Administration at the University of Arkansas three times. Scott J. Vitell is Associate Professor and Phil B. Hardin Chair of Marketing at the University of Mississippi. His work has appeared in the Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Journal of Business Ethics, Journal of Business Research, Journal of Macromarketing, Journal of Personal Selling & Sales Management, and Research in Marketing as well as various other journals and proceedings.     

Participatory multi-criteria decision analysis: a new tool for integrated development planning

This article proposes a new method for implementing integrated development planning as envisioned by the Local Government Municipal Systems Act of South Africa (2000). The method draws together stakeholders who fall into three broad groups: the communities who live in the municipal area, municipal officials and the elected local politicians. It is grounded in the principles of participatory action research, in which the participation of all interested and affected parties is valued. Within this participatory framework, tools of multicriteria decision analysis (MCDA) are used to support the decision-making process by structuring and quantifying difficult decisions that need to be addressed. Community development measurement scales are formulated by communities, and form the basis for evaluations of proposed projects and ongoing monitoring of these communities' progress.     

The Value of Olympic Sponsorships: Who is Capturing the Gold?

In recent years, corporate sponsorship has become anincreasingly important element of the marketing communicationsmix. This paper uses data from the 1996 Atlanta Summer OlympicGames to measure the value of Olympic sponsorship. Using stockreturn data, we find that the shareholders of sponsoring firmsearn negative average abnormal returns around announcement ofOlympic sponsorship agreements. This finding, consistent withan agency cost explanation of corporate investment practices,is robust to variation in a number of firm- and sponsorship-specificvariables. In addition, cross-sectional analysis supports themonitoring hypothesis, as significant equity ownership by institutionalinvestors is positively related to abnormal returns around announcement.Our results suggest that utilizing Olympic sponsorships in themarketing communications mix may not be value-enhancing.     

Ethical Decision Making: The Effects of Escalating Commitment

Despite the recent emergence of many new ethical decision making models, there has been minimal emphasis placed on the impact of escalating commitment on the ethical decision making process. In this paper a new variable is introduced into the ethical decision making literature. This variable, exposure to escalation situations, is posited to increase the likelihood that individuals will choose unethical decision alternatives. Further, it is proposed that escalation situations should be included as a variable in Jones's (1991) comprehensive model of ethical decision making. Finally, research propositions are provided based on the relationship between escalating commitment and the ethical decision making process.     

Attitudes of Business and Non-business Students Toward Corporate Actions

This study examined differences in the attitudes of business and non-business students toward economic, legal, ethical, and discretionary corporate actions. The results from a sample of two hundred and forty-two (242) university students indicated differences across three background variables (college major, gender, and race).     

Ethical Decision Making in Marketing: A Synthesis and Evaluation of Scales Measuring the Various Components of Decision Making in Ethical Situations

The authors present a comprehensive synthesis and evaluation of the published scales measuring the components of the decision making process in ethical situations using the Hunt-Vitell (1993) theory of ethics as a framework to guide the research. Suggestions for future scale development are also provided.     

Joint-Product Export Smuggling and Export Tax Policy

The effect of smuggling on tax revenue collection and the revenue-maximizing tax rate is an unresolved issue in the smuggling literature. Clandestine and joint-product smuggling models arrive at different conclusions concerning smuggling's effect on tax revenue collection and the revenue-maximizing tax rate. Clandestine (joint-product) smuggling is consistent with the assumption that legal and illegal trade are substitutable (complementary) activities for the exporting firm. The effect of smuggling on the tax rate and tax revenue is shown to be dependent on whether smuggling and legal trade are assumed to be complementary or substitutable activities.